U.S. patent application number 15/097012 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-20 for nuclear instrumentation and control system.
The applicant listed for this patent is ALSTOM Technology Ltd. Invention is credited to Malik BOUDOUDA, Walid HADDAD, Laetitia JACQUOT.
Application Number | 20160307655 15/097012 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53717960 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160307655 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HADDAD; Walid ; et
al. |
October 20, 2016 |
NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM
Abstract
An Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system for Emergency
Diesel Generator (EDG) of the nuclear power plants is provided. The
instrumentation and control system is adapted to be divided into
two parts: first and second control parts. The first control part
includes Safety I&C functions adapted to be controlled by wired
logics based on electromechanical relays. Further, the second
control part includes Non-safety I&C functions adapted to be
controlled by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)/Human Machine
Interface (HMI).
Inventors: |
HADDAD; Walid; (Cordimanche,
FR) ; BOUDOUDA; Malik; (Clichy, FR) ; JACQUOT;
Laetitia; (Vernouillet, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ALSTOM Technology Ltd |
Baden |
|
CH |
|
|
Family ID: |
53717960 |
Appl. No.: |
15/097012 |
Filed: |
April 12, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02E 30/00 20130101;
G21D 3/001 20130101; G21D 3/04 20130101; G21D 3/008 20130101; Y02E
30/30 20130101; G21D 1/02 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G21D 3/00 20060101
G21D003/00; G21D 3/04 20060101 G21D003/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 14, 2015 |
EP |
15290104.7 |
Claims
1. An Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system for Emergency
Diesel Generator (EDG) of the nuclear power plants, the
instrumentation and control system, comprising: a first control
part having Safety I&C functions adapted to be controlled by
wired logics based on electromechanical relays; and a second
control part having Non-safety I&C functions adapted to be
controlled by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)/Human Machine
Interface (HMI).
2. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the Safety I&C functions is related to
availability and efficiency of EDG, which is at least one of an
Engine Emergency Starting/Stopping system and supervision, a Speed
Control Unit, Excitations and Regulation Unit, Fuel Oil System,
Lube Oil System, and Preheating and Cooling Water System, Generator
supervision safety and safety auxiliary functions.
3. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 1, wherein Non-safety I&C functions is related to
indications, measuring and monitoring systems of EDG, which is at
least one of Alarm and signalization Systems, Physical Measurement
Systems, Non-Safety Electrical Protections, and
Synchronization.
4. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the Safety and Non-safety functions are configured
to include respective interface functions thereof, wherein the
interface functions include respective input and outputs signals of
the Safety and Non-safety functions.
5. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 1, further comprising a protection means to protect data
exchanges between the first control part incorporating Safety
I&C functions and second control part incorporating Non-safety
I&C functions.
6. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 5, wherein the protection means is based on physical
separation between classified circuits of the Safety and Non-safety
I&C functions in the first and second control parts.
7. The nuclear instrumentation and control system as claimed in
claim 5, wherein the protection means is based on electrical
insulation between the Safety and Non-safety I&C functions in
the first and second control parts, wherein the electrical
insulation is realized by Optocouplers, interface relays,
converters, transformers, fuses and a plurality of power supplies.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to European Patent
Application No. 15290104.7 filed Apr. 14, 2015, the contents of
which are hereby incorporated in its entirety.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
[0002] The present invention generally relates to nuclear power
plants, and more particularly to a nuclear Instrumentation and
Control (I&C) system incorporated in the Emergency Diesel
Generator (EDG) of the Nuclear Power Plants.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) are essential part of the
nuclear power plants, whose function is to provide emergency
electrical power to critical equipment of the nuclear power plants
in case of onsite, offsite events and/or incase when the power
source becomes unavailable or degraded.
[0004] Generally, EDGs are located in a dedicated area of the
nuclear power plant, and includes, along with various other
components, an Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system
incorporated therein. The I&C systems, such as, speed
regulation, synchronous, relaying, Programmable Logical Controller
(PLC)/Human machine Interface (HMI), polarity distributions, are
important electrical auxiliaries of the EDGs in regard to the
efficient operation of the EDGs.
[0005] Most of the present I&C systems in the nuclear power
plants are based on analog technologies including analog electronic
modules, electromagnetic relays etc. These analog technologies are
quite a mature and compliant with severe requirements of safety
applications in nuclear power plants. However, as such analog
technologies based I&C systems become older, they may
experience a higher failure rate with associated increased
maintenance costs. The primary concern with the extended use of
analog systems is effects of aging such as mechanical failures,
environmental degradation, and obsolescence.
[0006] The technical solutions currently available on the market
mainly count on digital technologies such as microprocessors,
hardware, and software, PLC. Such digital technologies are
essentially free of the drift that afflicts analog electronics, so
the scale can be maintained better. However, these digital
technologies are relatively new for I&C systems and are raising
many technical and procedural issues, such as, the quantification
of software reliability fault tolerance, self-testing, signal
verification and validation, process system diagnostics etc.
[0007] Accordingly, there exists a need for entirely new approaches
to achieve the required reliability, and, have a robust and
flexible I&C system in terms of maintenance, reliability
compactness in economical and effective manner.
SUMMARY
[0008] The present disclosure discloses a nuclear Instrumentation
and Control (I&C) system for an Emergency Diesel Generator
(EDG) in the nuclear power plants that will be presented in the
following simplified summary to provide a basic understanding of
one or more aspects of the disclosure that are intended to overcome
the discussed drawbacks, but to include all advantages thereof,
along with providing some additional advantages. This summary is
not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is intended to
neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure, nor to
delineate the scope of the present disclosure. Rather, the sole
purpose of this summary is to present some concepts of the
disclosure, its aspects and advantages in a simplified form as a
prelude to the more detailed description that is presented
hereinafter.
[0009] A general object of the present disclosure is to describe a
nuclear I&C system that may be robust and flexible in terms of
maintenance and reliability compactness. Further object of the
present disclosure is to describe a nuclear I&C system that may
incorporate analog technologies, such as electromechanical relays,
as well as digital technologies, such as Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLCs) based on the classification of Safety and
Non-safety functions of the nuclear I&C system.
[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, an Instrumentation
and Control (I&C) system for Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG)
of the nuclear power plants is provided. The I&C system is
adapted to be divided into parts, i.e., a first control part and a
second control part. The first control part includes Safety I&C
functions adapted to be controlled by wired logics based on
electromechanical relays. Further, the second control part includes
Non-safety I&C functions adapted to be controlled by
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)/Human Machine Interface
(HMI).
[0011] In accordance with an embodiment, the Safety I&C
functions may be related to availability and efficiency of EDG,
which may at least be one of an Emergency Starting/Stopping EDG, a
Speed Control Unit, Excitations and Regulation Unit, Fuel Oil
System, Lube Oil System, and Preheating and Cooling Water System.
Further the Non-safety I&C functions may be related to
indications, measuring and monitoring systems of EDG, which may at
least be one of Alarm Systems, Physical Measurement Systems,
Non-Safety Electrical Protections, and Synchronization.
[0012] In accordance with an embodiment, the Safety and Non-safety
functions may be configured to include respective interface
functions thereof, wherein the interface functions include
respective input and outputs signals of the Safety and Non-safety
functions.
[0013] In accordance with an embodiment, I&C system may further
include a protection means to protect data exchanges between the
first control part incorporating Safety I&C functions and
second control part incorporating Non-safety I&C functions. In
an embodiment, the protection means may be based on physical
separation between classified circuits of the Safety and Non-safety
I&C functions in the first and second control parts. In further
embodiment, the protection means may be based on electrical
insulation between the Safety and Non-safety I&C functions in
the first and second control parts.
[0014] These together with the other aspects of the present
disclosure, along with the various features of novelty that
characterize the present disclosure, are pointed out with
particularity in the present disclosure. For a better understanding
of the present disclosure, its operating advantages, and its uses,
reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and
descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary
embodiments of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The advantages and features of the present disclosure will
better understood with reference to the following detailed
description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawing, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols,
and in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of Instrumentation and
Control (I&C) system for Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) of
the nuclear power plants, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0017] Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the
description of several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] For a thorough understanding of the present disclosure,
reference is to be made to the following detailed description,
including the appended claims, in connection with the
above-described drawings. In the following description, for
purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to provide a thorough understanding of the present
disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art
that the present disclosure can be practiced without these specific
details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in
block diagrams form only, in order to avoid obscuring the
disclosure. Reference in this specification to "one embodiment,"
"an embodiment," "another embodiment," "various embodiments," means
that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described
in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase
"in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not
necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate
or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments.
Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by
some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements
are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but
may not be of other embodiment's requirement.
[0019] Although the following description contains many specifics
for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will
appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to these details
are within the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, although
many of the features of the present disclosure are described in
terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled
in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be
provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this
description of the present disclosure is set forth without any loss
of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the
present disclosure. Further, the relative terms used herein do not
denote any order, elevation or importance, but rather are used to
distinguish one element from another. Further, the terms "a," "an,"
and "plurality" herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but
rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced
item.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, an example block diagram of
Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system 100 (hereinafter
referred to as `I&C system 100`) for an Emergency Diesel
Generator (EDG) 1000 of the nuclear power plants is illustrated in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
In as much as the construction and arrangement of the I&C
system 100, various associated elements may be well-known to those
skilled in the art, it is not deemed necessary for purposes of
acquiring an understanding of the present disclosure that there be
recited herein all of the constructional details and explanation
thereof. Rather, it is deemed sufficient to simply note that as
shown in FIG. 1, in the I&C system 100, only those components
are shown that are relevant for the description of various
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the I&C system 100 is adapted to be
divided into parts, i.e., a first control part 110 and a second
control part 120. The first control part 110 includes Safety
I&C functions, as depicted in block 112, adapted to be
controlled by wired logics based on electromechanical relays 114.
Further, the second control part 120 includes Non-safety I&C
functions, as depicted in block 122, adapted to be controlled by
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)/Human Machine Interface (HMI)
124.
[0022] In accordance with an embodiment, as depicted in the block
112, the Safety I&C functions may be related to availability
and efficiency of EDG, which may at least be one of an Engine
Emergency Starting/Stopping system and supervision, a Speed Control
Unit, an Excitations and Regulation Unit, Fuel Oil System, Lube Oil
System, and Preheating and Cooling Water System, and Generator
supervision safety and safety auxiliary functions etc.
[0023] Further the Non-safety I&C functions, as depicted in the
block 122, may related to indications, measuring and monitoring
systems of EDG, which may at least be one of Alarm and
signalization Systems, Physical Measurement Systems, Non-Safety
Electrical Protections, and Synchronization, etc.
[0024] In accordance with an embodiment, the Safety and Non-safety
functions may be configured to include respective interface
functions thereof, wherein the interface functions include
respective input and outputs signals of each Safety and Non-safety
functions.
[0025] In accordance with an embodiment, I&C system may further
include a protection means, 130 to protect data exchanges between
the first control part incorporating Safety I&C functions and
second control part incorporating Non-safety I&C functions. In
an embodiment, the protection means may be based on physical
separation, such as specific gap 130, between classified circuits
of the Safety and Non-safety I&C functions of the in the first
and second control parts 110, 120. In further embodiment, the
protection means may be based on electrical insulation (not shown)
between the Safety and Non-safety I&C functions in the first
and second control parts 110, 120.
[0026] The I&C system 100 is adapted to be communicably
configured to various other units. For example, the first and
second control parts 110, 120 relating to the Safety and Non-safety
I&C functions are adapted and configured to communicate with a
main control room 150, which is also in communication with various
other non-classified units 152, 154. The second control part 120
may for example communicates with a non-classified Digital
Protection EDG 160, a non-classified Digital Measuring Device EDG
162, and non-classified Instrumentation EDG 164. Similarly, the
first control part 110 may for example communicates with
non-classified Instrumentation EDG 166 and other non-classified
unit 154. FIG. 1 is only an example block illustration of the
I&C system 100, and the scope of the present disclosure should
not considered limiting in any sense to FIG. 1, which may include
various modifications, arrangement or rearrangement as per the
industry need and requirement.
[0027] The system 100 of the present disclosure is advantageous in
various scopes such as described above. Further, the system is
advantageous in incorporating analog technologies, such as
electromechanical relays, as well as digital technologies, such as
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) based on the classification
of Safety and Non-safety functions of the nuclear I&C system.
The system economically and effectively provides robustness and
flexibility in terms of maintenance and reliability
compactness.
[0028] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the
present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration
and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and
obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light
of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in
order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and
its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the
art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments
with various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is understood that various omission and
substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may
suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the
application or implementation without departing from the spirit or
scope of the claims of the present disclosure.
* * * * *